Heightened Sweet Preference Linked To Physical Growth In Children

Now get this, they claim that this craving is "normal" and want to find a way to interfere with it.

"As any parent knows, children love sweet-tasting foods. Now, new research from the University of Washington and the Monell Center indicates that this heightened liking for sweetness has a biological basis and is related to children's high growth rate.

'The relationship between sweet preference and growth makes intuitive sense because when growth is rapid, caloric demands increase. Children are programmed to like sweet taste because it fills a biological need by pushing them towards energy sources,' said Monell geneticist Danielle Reed, PhD, one of the study authors...

'This gives us the first link between sweet preference and biological need," said Reed. "When markers of bone growth decline as children age, so does their preference for highly sweet solutions.'...

'We now know that sweet preference is related to physical growth. The next step is to identify the growth-related factor that is signaling the brain to influence sweet preference,' said study lead author Coldwell, Washington Dental Service Endowed Professor and Associate Professor of Dental Public Health Sciences at the University of Washington School of Dentistry."

Yeah, I would let these folks mess with a child's brain - Not!

Welcome to the brave new world of short, unhappy kids.